It is estimated that fossil fuels will continue to provide the bulk of the world's electric power requirements for the next 100 years while non-carbon power sources are developed and deployed. Known methods of power generation through combustion of fossil fuels and/or suitable biomass, however, are plagued by rising energy costs and an increasing production of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other emissions. Global warming is increasingly seen as a potentially catastrophic consequence of increased carbon emissions by the developed and developing nations. Solar and wind power do not appear capable of replacing fossil fuel combustion in the near term, and nuclear power has dangers associated with both proliferation and nuclear waste disposal.
Conventional means of power production from fossil fuels or suitable biomass now are increasingly being burdened with a requirement for CO2 capture at high pressure for delivery to sequestration sites. This requirement is proving difficult to fulfill, however, since present technology only provides for very low thermal efficiencies for even the best designs for CO2 capture. Moreover, capital costs for achieving CO2 capture are high, and this results in significantly higher electricity costs compared to systems that emit CO2 into the atmosphere. Accordingly, there is an ever growing need in the art for systems and methods for high efficiency power generation allowing for a reduction in CO2 emission and/or improved ease of sequestration of produced CO2.